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More than meets the eye
Tis a rock! Tis a peak! Tis a cape, forsooth! Tis a peninsula! Those famous lines from Cyrano de Bergerac could so easily have been said of the Saint Tropez peninsula. It is a world of surprises, a far cry from the clichés that have made it so inaccurately famous.
The sea is Saint Tropez’s pulse, wine is its strength, and its lungs are the wild greenery of the Massif des Maures. But the picture postcard image of a pretty-little-fishing-port hides the unusual history of one of the biggest trade and shipbuilding ports of the 18th century.
Far from the glitz and glamour of “the season’s wings” as people say when they talk about the high season here, Saint Tropez has a surprising history.
In ancient times, this peninsula became a port of call for Etruscan and Greek merchants. How could they resist this magnificent natural splendour, all decked out with promontories, headlands, creeks, coves and bays shaded by Aleppo pines, cork oaks, evergreen oaks, umbrella pines and strawberry trees? A peninsula that holds untold treasures, which today's pirates would still love to get their hands on...
A PROMONTORY AND AN ISLET
Cap Saint Tropez ahoy! From the sea, you can see the eastern tower of the church (43°16’25" N / 6042’36" E) on La Moutte island (43°16’0" N / 6°41’6" E), 150m from the shore. The ‘Caillou’ is a granite island of just 320 sq ft (30m2), topped with a cros
s, that was inhabited in the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age.
It is a Lilliputian cousin of the Hyères islands, and forms part of the Maures massif, the vestiges of the Pyreneo-Corso-Sardinian plate, which was broken up during the expansion of the Tethys Ocean, which later became the Mediterranean. It is the summit of an underwater mountain. A branch of coral taken from here was given as a gift to Catherine de’ Medici when she stopped at Saint Tropez en route for her marriage in 1600.
Overlooking the beach, at the heart of the luxuriant park with its vines and a palm grove that is now over a hundred years old, you can see the Château de la Moutte, with its sand-coloured frontage and pink shutters, former estate of Émile Ollivier (1829-1913), a minister of Napoleon III, and elder statesman of the Académie Française. The estate is now the property of the ‘Conservatoire du Littoral’ for Coastline Preservation.
A HEADLAND AND A BAY
The headland tha
t you can see further south is the Pointe des Salins, whose beach is closed off by the Pointe du Capon. In the distance you can catch a glimpse of Saint Tropez’s most famous beaches in the cradle of Pampelonne bay behind the rows of anchored yachts (450 acres of Mediterranean seagrass ripped apart by anchors, the satellites tells us!): Tahiti Beach, Coco Beach, Kay West, Club 55, Bora Bora and Kon Tiki. That’s where to go for a tan and a bit of celebrity spotting!
At Pointe des Salins, rare birds of the feathered kind nest in the last wetlands of the Gulf, the Étang des Salins. These old Roman salt marshes make an outstanding habitat for land and water fauna and flora.
Rounding the Pointe de la Rabiou (43°16’ 44" N / 6°40’40" E) you can see the little private beach of Parcs de Saint Tropez, a natural jewel where, at the end of the 19th century, Borelli had an oriental palace constructed that peeks through the umbrella pines. In the shadow of the pink laurel trees, with the scent of eucalyptus trees and old roses, which surround lavish architectural fancies, you can see the more discreet villas from the 1960s, which still maintain a few acres of vines.
WINE AND HEMP
Off the coast here, at a depth of nearly 110 ft (33m) lies the wreck of a 1st century BC Roman ship, laden with hundreds of amphorae full of wine. The Romans had planted grape vines here, and threw themselves into the swinging wine trade, started three centuries earlier
by the Phocaens who founded Marseilles, and were great lovers of the fruit of the vine.
So let's crack open the amphora! We have already identified Pointe Saint Pierre (43°16’34" N / 6°40’10" E), known as Lo cap de la vit in Provençal. This strategic point was guarded, to keep an eye out for invading boats that prowled along the coastline here for centuries. On 15th June 1637, twenty-one Spanish galleons were sighted by one Gaspard Martin. Raising the alert earned him a reward of 21 livres… Every year on 15th June, a local festival, the "bravade" commemorates the victory of Saint Tropez over the Spanish with percussion and blunderbuss fire.
We now come to the Canebiers cove, with its beach and moorings. The name is taken from cannabis sativa, or canebe in Provençal, and the famous Canebière in Marseille takes its name from the same source. It means hemp, which was grown from the 15th century onwards for clothes, ropes and also sales for the trading ships that flocked to Saint Tropez. Canebiers was the secondary port, for ships in quarantine, traders, warships and… smugglers.
TUNA TRAPPING
Up to the east is what may be the most famous villa in the world - and also the most modest round here: La Madrague (43°16’19" N / 6°40’10" E). Long before the 1950s and Brigitte Bardot made this place famous with a song named after it, this was where fishermen used the "madrague", a long net for trapping migrating tuna. The fish were gutted here before being sh
ipped off to Toulon and Nice. A royal licence was required for any fisherman, referred to as a King (or Rey en Provençal), wishing to use a madrague here.
On the western side of the cove, down by the water, is the marine graveyard. Famous names who lie here include Bannou Pan Deï, Hindu wife of the famous Tropezian General Allard, alongside Roger Vadim and Eddy Barclay. On the left of the holiday village for "those who spend their death on holiday" as Georges Brassens sang, there is the little Graniers beach and what is left of the bar that featured in French TV series Sous le Soleil.
Up above is the Citadelle, which was built in the 16th century. What can be seen from the sea is actually all that is left of it. The Citadelle has not always held a special place in the heart of St Tropez population. It was built against their wishes, they then demanded it be pulled down, before watching it being built up again by Louis 14th as an asylum for old and invalid soldiers. It is now a Naval Museum.
FISHERMAN AND LIARS
Not such a good smell… Get a first sighting of the town as you go past La Ponche (meaning 'headland' in Provençal), with its two 
towers that hem in the beach by the old fishing port. The first is known as 'La Vieille' and the other is 'Le Portalet' (43°16’26" N / 6°38’20" E) in which Roger Vadim and Brigitte Bardot filmed the legendary Et Dieu Créa la Femme in 1956.
Finally, the Jean Réveille pier – named after the well-known hydrographer. It is a long winding promenade around the old port. The red lighthouse (43°16’21" N / 6°37’57" E), which was inaugurated in 2001, is identical to the lighthouse that inspired painter (and sailor) Paul Signac in the late 19th century.
The harbour master's office to the starboard, in a tower on Quai de l'Épi. Once you have completed your paperwork, enjoy a picture-postcard view, with the traditional fishing boats in the port, some of which are still in operation, and the elderly folk enjoying a leisurely chat in the sun on the "liars' bench". Behind the row of modern yachts – and luckily also some stunning classic ships – ensure the colours of the Italian-style houses – ochre, sienna, yellow. Above all this emerges the parish church and its striking, colourful bell tower. Welcome to Saint Tropez !
